Like a Demon from the ashes
by DTM Sora
Summary: After returning to his world Satan has an inner battle. Does he return to his conquest to rule the world or face the consequences of his sins? Will Emi and Suzuno, and unknowingly Chiho return to a world overrun with demons and how will Chiho deal with the destruction Satan has caused?
1. Chapter 1

Like a Demon from the ashes

After returning to his world Satan has an inner battle. Does he return to his conquest to rule the world or face the consequences of his sins? Will Emi and Suzuno, and unknowingly Chiho return to a world overrun with demons and how will Chiho deal with the destruction Satan has caused?

Urushihara typed away on his laptop. It was the only light emitting in to the dark room he shared with his fellow demon general Ashiya and their master Satan. Urushihara frowned as his laptop took ages to load up a page he was trying to get onto. How he so wished he could get a new laptop but Ashiya would have a fit at the mere idea and go on a rant about money and Urushihara wasn't really up for that. He toyed with the idea about buying a new one anyway. If it arrived here before Ashiya and Maou realized what he did he was sure they would cave in and let him keep it plus it would piss off Ashiya which was a bonus. Urushihara was about to do just that when he noticed that he got an email in one of his other tabs. He clicked the tab open and looked at the title of the email.

"Wonders and places of true magic" it read. Urushihara had a small snicker to himself. Humans in this world often confused many things for real magic. Most of his time spent online was separating the real magic from the countless fakes and sadly there was only a small handful that could be classified as real. Those either lacked enough magic to be of use or where just too far from them to go to on their current budget. Out of a whim he signed up to a website dedicated about magic and often got many emails about magic and places believed to be magical. These were often lies but he still checked just in case one had any truth behind them. As Urushihara opened the email his eyes shot wide open as he read it.

"Well this is interesting..." he thought to himself. It looked like he found that email that would prove to have some truth behind it a lot faster than he thought.

Maou put his hand on his forehead trying to block out the bright sun from them. He had just finished a shift at work. He would off gladly stayed on longer at work but today he was seeing off Chiho, Suzuno and Emi on their trip. Chiho's father had rented out wooden cabin far out in the woods and planned to use it observe the eclipse that was happening that weekend away from the lights of any major city. Chiho had invited Suzuno and Emi along and both whole hearting agreed. Suzuno was glad at the idea of going somewhere that had some resemble of their old world and Emi had never really had a chance to appreciate an eclipse before since it was usually at this time demons were at their strongest and so most dangerous.

Chiho walked out of McRonalds after Satan. She too covered her eyes from the bright sun. It was a lovely day and though she was happy for her upcoming trip she was sad at the thought of not seeing Maou for the next few days.

"Well shouldn't we walk to your place?" smiled Maou to Chiho.

Chiho felt herself blush at his smile but was able to muster a "sure" before walking home with Maou. Both chatted about random stuff, mostly work and their upcoming plans. As they reached Chiho's house they saw a car parked outside, boot open, half filled with items for the trip. Chiho's father came walking out of the house carrying a rather large box. He was followed by both Suzuno and Emi with smaller boxes in their arms.

"Oh hi Chiho can you go up and change? We will be leaving shortly" Chiho's father asked.

"Sure thing!" Chiho said happily before running off into her house. Both Suzuno and Emi said hi to Maou though while friendly did not have as much warmth in their eyes Chiho had towards Maou. Both knew very well that while nice in this world the horrors that he can bring and never let slip that mistrust they had for him.

"So you're Maou to finally meet you!" came a booming voice from the front door. Chiho's mother came walking over towards Maou a smile that threatened to go beyond the width of her face and a bosom that rivalled Chiho's own.

"I have heard so much about you" she smiled before putting Maou into a tight hug, his face lost between her cleavage. After he finally emerged between the walls of flesh he greeted Chiho's mother between gasps of breath.

"Nice to meet you to!" He just about mustered. Both Suzuno and Emi laughed at this. Maou may have been oblivious to Chiho's flirts to him and the times she has tried to use her boobs to get his attention but the sight of seeing him forcefully come into contact with Chiho's mum's boobs was well worth a laugh.

Maou shot a frown to the two girls. It wasn't exactly fun for him to nearly die by a woman's cleavage 'oh how he would be mocked among demons if he did!' and their laughs didn't help the cause. Before Maou could throw a witty remark their way he felt a hand on his shoulder. Turning around he meet the smile of C's father police detective Sasaki. Both had met already but thanks to Maou's mind wipe had forgotten all about it.

"So you are the man my Chiho has fallen in love with! I'm glad to meet such a young, honest, hardworking man! Those qualities are rarely found in today's generation! If you ever want to move up from the job you are currently at, just ask me, I'm sure I can help you out!"

"Thanks Mr Sasaki but right now I'm happy being assistant manager at McRonalds" Maou smiled. 'Chiho's parents were certainly a friendly bunch' he thought.

It was at this moment that Chiho herself came running out of the house. She had changed out of her uniform and into a tank top and a pair of shorts. She was trying to make as much use of her curves as possible to try and attract Maou's interest. She got smiles from Emi, Suzuno and her mother and a shocked expression from her father still unaccustomed to seeing his daughter wear such clothes. Maou gave her a smile to but not one that came from seeing the clothes she wore but just from seeing her in general.

"So honey you already for the trip" smiled her mother. After getting a nod in return she continued on "well good your father and me will be waiting in the car. You girls say your goodbyes to Maou don't keep us waiting now!" before dragging her still shocked husband with her.

"Well Chiho I guess this is goodbye" waved Maou to her and the three girls. All three said goodbye back before adding some of their own words.

"I hope you be careful Maou while I'm gone and I hope you don't run off back to Ente Isla while I away!" said Chiho a look of pure dread in her eyes at the thought.

"Don't worry Chiho I don't plan to anytime soon! I still got to work my way up the McRonalds business chain before I can even think about returning home!"

"Oh good!" Chiho replied before putting Maou into a hug similar to the one his mother had just did to him though failing to put his head between her boobs.

"You better get up to nothing while I'm gone demon" Emi growled towards her foe. She didn't mean to be as harsh as she was but she couldn't help herself. This would be the first time since meeting him in this world that she would leave him to his own devices for a large period of time and the threat of him pulling a fast one was real.

"Don't worry I wouldn't dream of it" Maou said sticking out his tongue.

"There is some food over in my place, help yourselves to it" Suzuno said.

"I'm sure Ashiya would be more than happy to" Maou said thinking about his commander.

After that was done all three girls hurried off to the car and Maou waved them off until the car turned a corner and was lost from his sight. Turning with a sigh he made for home.

Upon his return he was met with the sight of both Ashiya and Urushihara sitting quietly looking at him. This unnerved him since Urushihara was usually always stuck on his laptop and Ashiya was being sick, cooking or complaining about something (he had managed to do all three at once before!)

"What with the faces" he asked his two generals.

Ashiya looked to Urushihara who put his laptop on the table facing Satan. "Read" was the only word that came from Ashiya's mouth.

Maou did what he was told and sat down in front of the laptop. The laptop was open to an email about a local shrine and strange occurrences that are meant to take place around an eclipse.

"So?" Maou asked. It wasn't the first time they had come across a place in the human world that was meant to have magical properties.

"Well this shrine isn't far from here and so I and Urushihara decided to check it out. When we got there we felt no magic at all but once we touched it we felt a rush of magic surge through us. We stuck around to find out any more information. We learned that the shrine is meant to be a place where a battle between a demon and mage took place. The mage won and the shrine was made in his honour. Legend had it the demon was killed on the night of an eclipse and since then on every night of an eclipse strange things are meant to take place. After learning this we made to leave put not before touching the shrine again and we felt the same surge of magic as before but this time stronger! We believe there is some truth in the old legend. It could be our best chance to get home!" Ashiya finished.

"Wait you really think we can go home now!" Maou say shocked. He always planned to return home but it always seemed so far off. Now though it could be a real possibility to him he felt uneasy. He has really enjoying Earth.

"Yes at the minute this is our best chance that doesn't rely on the sorrow of humans" Urushihara said. "I also did some research about actual demons in this world. One thing I noticed was that demons never stayed around long. Just create chaos and leave, some return to the same area every now and again but their stay is usually short, I think it could be possible that long exposure to this world is poisonous to demons"

"But we have been here for over a year and nothing bad has happened" pointed out Maou.

"Not exactly true I'm sure you noticed but it takes longer for us to gain the same amount of power as before even with a large amount of human sorrow and it has gotten easier for Ashiya to get sick the longer he has been here. I think it is only an amount of time before something really bad happens to us" countered Urushihara.

"So this is it then, either leave tonight or stick around and die!" questioned Maou.

"I'm sorry my lord but that seems to be the way" nodded Ashiya .

"Fine let's get packed, time to go home!" and though he tried to sound cheerful he couldn't help keep the disappointment from his voice. As the demons started to gather their things Maou pulled out a notepad. Ashiya had got one as it was his belief it could come in handle and the fact it was on special offer with a set of pens helped too!

Maou decided that if they were going to leave he had to have a way to say goodbye to the three girls they were leaving behind and hope that they could forgive him. He also hoped that they would pass on the message that he wouldn't be in work anymore. He really didn't want to leave McRonalds without giving them some sort of message he was leaving.

That night all three demons stood beside the shrine waiting for the eclipse. Both Maou and Urushirhara had waited an hour for Ashiya to show up. When asked why he was late he gave some excuse about being late though Maou was sure he had went back to get back his cloak!

Maou could feel the magic from the shrine grow and nervously counted down the time he had left in this world. At the full height of the eclipse he felt a rush of magic erupt from the shrine. With his veins throbbing with magic he willed a gate to open. A gate appeared to his left of the shrine big enough for them all to fit through.

"Well this is it" said Ashiya aloud.

"I'm so glad to leave this world behind it really is a boring place" spoke out Urushihara before walking through the gate.

"I know this is hard but we don't belong in this world" Ashiya said to his lord.

"Your right" Satan said to Ashiya . Ashiya smiled to him before he too walked through the gate as well.

Maou turned to look at the lights of Tokyo one more time. He smiled at his broken promise to Emi but frowned as he remembered his promise to Chiho. She had told him her fear of his return to Ente Isla and he did promise he wouldn't just leave her. "I'm sorry C looks like I'm gonna have to break that promise" said Maou and he walked through the gate. It disappeared from existence after he entered. Returning the demons to their word and opening up another chapter in the human VS demon war.


	2. Chapter 2: Demons in a human world

Chapter 2: Demons in a human world

A gate opened in the middle of ruined forest. It stood still for a few seconds before a being emerged from it. The being in particular was of human shape with long purple hair. This person took a few seconds to look around before moving out of the way for his companion to pass by. His companion that came from the gate was also human shape and had long blond hair. He seemed to stumble as he came through the gate which got a laugh out of his purple haired friend. The blond was about to bite back with a reply before he was knocked off his feet by a third figure from the gate. This person was smaller than the blond but by the way the blond figure begged for forgiveness it was clear he was in charge.

Maou held out his hand and signalled for the blond to keep quiet. Ashiya shout his mouth immediately and Maou took this chance to check out the area. They were clearly in the ruins of a forest. Burnt trees littered the landscape with bones clearly visible for all to see in each direction. A large battle had taken place years before and the land still showed no signs of recovering.

Maou sighed and turned to Ashiya "Where are we?"

"I believe we are in the West Country my Lord!" answered Ashiya promptly.

"And can you answer me why are we still in our human forms? I thought we would return to normal upon returning home?" quizzed Maou.

I do not know Lord, maybe our long stay has made it harder to return back to normal. I feel my magic returning to me but it is awfully slow doing so. I believe it will take a while before we can do any real magic" Ashiya huffed.

"So now what" spoke up Urushihara.

"Well we should look for a place to stay while we let are magic grow. It would also do well to gather information at the same time. Right now it is impossible to plan our next move with little no information of the situation since we have left" answered Ashiya.

"You're right Ashiya we should search for a human settlement" Maou said too much surprise from his two generals.

"Humans! Why? If they see us they will probably kill us. We should look for demons!" argued Urushihara.

"In our current form can you say confidently that no demons would kill us?" countered Maou. "We look like humans right now it only makes sense to look for humans to hide among. Anyway even if we are the most famous demons in the land we have been messing for over a year believed to be dead. The last thing people would expect is for us to show up in a human village looking like humans. And how many humans have gazed upon us and lived to tell the tale? Very few and most of those would be in the major cities."

"Your right Lord forgive me for ever questioning you" cried Ashiya grabbing Maou midriff tears in his eyes.

"Come on now Ashiya hold yourself together!" ordered Maou and Ashiya did so at once. Maou took one look around the area and started off in a random direction. He had no idea where he was going but this direction seemed better than any other. Both his generals followed suit and an uneasy silence fell among the three. None knew what surprises to expect this world now held for them.

All three marched for days on end only stopping to eat and sleep. In their human forms it was required that they ate when they could but food was scarce. The best they could find were some berries and they mostly went to sleep hungry. After a week marching they finally arrived at a human settlement. The settlement was a small village with at least 10 houses. It was surrounded by fields full of either crops or farm animals. It was with great effort that they walked into the village.

Much to their surprise the villagers were quite friendly. A couple of the elders came to them and took them to a local inn were they were given a free meal. As they eat they were told the reason for this.

"You see" started an old man with a very large grey beard "ever since Satan was finally defeated by the hero life has gotten better. There are still the occasional demon attack but they are usually a very rogue group of demons and the first sign of a fight back causes them to run away. Anytime we see travellers we feel the need to help them so that they can continue on their travels with a full belly and high spirits".

"That is a very good policy" smiled Maou.

"Yes I guess it is" laughed the old man "so what has brought weary travellers like yourselves to our village?"

"We were among a group of merchants that were attacked by demons" Maou lied going over the lie they had planned to use for such an occasion like this. "The attack was brutal and we retreated as much as we could. We eventually got away from the demons but we were all that was left. With no supplies we made it across the land looking for any settlement that we could rest at."

"Damn demons" growled the old man. "Even without a leader they are still a danger for all humans. Well don't worry as long as you stay here you will be safe."

The old man was true to his word. Over the next few days the three were looked after at the local inn and given new clothes. All three repaid this back by helping out as much as they could (expect for Urushihara who took any opportunity to doss off.

Maou was in one of the field picking out weeds. Weeds often grew among the crops and would kill off the much needed source of food if given the chance. Maou was more than willing to do this job and was having more fun than he should be having.

"How dare you dirty weed make your presence known among the crops. I will take great joy in ripping up and burning you. Your children will tell tales of the punishment you suffered!" laughed Maou.

"I never seen someone have so much fun weeding before" said a female voice behind him. Turning he came across the sight of a girl starring back at him. She had black hair and was wearing a red dress that blew in the breeze. By human standards she was very pretty though for Maou's demon standards she wasn't much.

"Of course I'm having fun! Weeding is a way to show the plant life who is in charge after all!" said Maou happily.

"... hahahhaha, your different from anyone I have ever met alright" chuckled the girl.

"Different is always better" smiled Maou.

"I'll take your word for it" laughed the girl. "So who are you? My name is Hitotsu no mokuteki"

"Mine's Maou Sadao!"

"Well it is nice to meet you Sadao! I hope to see you around" waved Hitotsu before walking off.

"Humans are such strange creatures" amused Maou to himself before getting back to work.

Over the next few days Maou would run into Hitotsu where ever he went. She was always ready to chat and asked questions about where he came from. He was glad that Ashiya made him go over their story so much or he would off cracked from under all her questions. Hitotsu also always seemed to be wearing less and less clothes every time they met. Her dresses became shorter and tighter and she always complained about hot it was and how they should go down to the lake to cool off. Maou had no idea what she was talking about. Compared to how usually hot his castle was today was quite cold!

"I have no idea why she acts the way she does" concluded Maou after telling his two generals about this girl.

"You really are thick with women aren't you" said Urushihara.

"How dare you insult the Lord you swine" shouted Ashiya.

"Bite me" replied Urushihara.

"Ugh why do we put up with you" growled Ashiya. "Anyway my lord it seems this girl likes you."

"Really? I didn't notice" answered Maou truthfully.

"Awh come on! Why are the girls attracted to him! He is oblivious to their advances!" said Urushihara.

"Why if I didn't know any better I would say you were taking a fancy to female humans" smiled Ashiya.

"I would like some attention from females even if they are human" Urushihara huffed.

"Hahahaha Urushihara you really are something!" laughed Ashiya. "Anyway what are going to do about this girl lord?"

"Hmmmmm... I'll think of something" answered Maou and started to ponder on how he could solve his girl problem.

In the human world the three girls all spent their time together getting to know one another much better. Emi had many stories to tell of her adventures as the hero.

"One of my first missions was to slay a troll that lived under a bridge" she told a wide eyed Chiho.

"Like trolls in fairy tale!?" asked Chiho.

"Sorry fairy tales" said a confused Emi.

"Yeah you know trolls always live under bridges. One story has three goats crossing a bridge. Each time one of them crossed he threatened to eat them but stopped at promise of a bigger goat. Eventually he meets the oldest and biggest goat who pushes him off the bridge" smiled Chiho.

"A strange story that" laughed Emi. "But no this troll ate all who came across the bridge. When I fought him there were too many close calls. I only thank that the troll was not the brightest. After that I made sure to be very careful in all my battles."

Awh such a cool story" said a starry eyed Chiho. "What about you Suzuno do you have any stories like Emi?"

"Not really" answered Suzuno "I was an executioner; most of my stuff was done in the shadows. My best story if you can call it that would be when I had to execute a rogue group of traders who were going to sell weapons to demons..."

"The bastards!" shouted Emi getting a startled look from both of Chiho's parents who were on the other side of the room watching TV. She lowered her voice before continuing on "you did a great service killing those swine!"

"You and Suzuno have so many stories and all I have is that I work at McRonalds" Chiho said downtrodden.

"Believe me you wouldn't want the lives we have lived" answered an honest Suzuno.

"Yeah being the hero isn't that fun" said a sad Emi.

"So are you really going to kill Maou" asked Chiho her eyes full of fear to the answer she feared to receive.

"I... I don't honestly know...I mean as the hero I should kill him right? He is the villain and what he has done is unforgivable... but I see him in this world and he isn't the overlord he is meant to be. He is so normal... OK maybe a little odd but he has a good heart. He has saved so many people when he didn't need to. It makes me wonder how things would be if we humans had never turned on demons to begin with" Emi let slip.

"Wait humans betrayed demons!?" said a confused Chiho.

"Damn I let that slip didn't I" cringed Emi getting a dark glare from Suzuno. "Well the cat is out of the bag now. Yes we humans betrayed demons. Originally demons and humans lived side by side with each other. However the humans turned on the demons and forced them to retreat from their old lands. They eventually made a home in the land that came under Satan's rule. The demons feel that the lands the humans live on belong to them and believe that humans should suffer for our betrayal."

"So humans really started it" said a startled Chiho.

"Well in one way yeah, but that doesn't mean demons just get to kill all they want and they will be held accountable for their actions" said a determined Emi though part of her questioned if the demons did have some justice in their actions and that maybe humans really were the bad guys in the war...

The days had turn into weeks as the demons in hiding continued to stay in the village. All three had started to grow customised to the way of life and though they still had plans to return to their former glory they were in no rush. Their powers had yet to fully return (though they were getting stronger by the day) and they had gathered a large and very useful network of information.

Much to Maou's liking there was a great rift among the human forces. The church was struggling with the leadership role it had taken for the humans and rumours of the churches evil actions were growing every day. Word of demons fighting back became more and more frequent and it became clear that the humans were losing that battle. The fact that Satan's two remaining generals along with the Grim Reaper had reformed a base of power was a great worry to humans all over. The fear of another war was very real and much to Satan's satisfaction the humans without a hero were close to breaking point.

Maou yawned as he finished off another day off work. It was harvesting season and Maou was busy helping with the harvest. As he made his way back to the inn he bumped into Hit.

"Hi Maou!" smiled Hitotsu .

"Hi Hitotsu how are you" replied back Maou.

"I'm good. So you know it is the big festival of our village and I was wondering if you wanted to go with me" asked Hitotsu.

"Sure it would be great" answered Maou giving her a friendly smile.

"YAY!" shouted Hitotsu before hugging Maou and running off home. Maou thought to himself how strange humans were but was still looking forward to the festival. He might as well find out what it was like to be with a female anyway!

Unknown to anyone the next 24 hours would see an event that would see the return of Satan much sooner than anyone expected and his wrath to those he hated would be server!


	3. Chapter 3 The Lord has Returned!

Chapter 3 The Lord has Returned!

Maou looked down at the humans in disgust. His horns shined from the blood of his first victim. The humans had a mixture of fear and hatred on their faces. None had expected the demon king to be disguised as a human. As Maou looked at each in turn he looked up at the sky. The moon was bright he noticed. He thought back to how earlier when he had gazed up at it what the night had in store for him. Now that he had he wished he could turn back time and run away from that cursed village.

Earlier that Day... Maou looked on amused at the actions of the girl he had met not too long ago got ready for the festival that night. She had her hair braided and was wearing a silk dress (a rare treat in these parts) and was doing her best to keep the posture a lady in waiting would be proud of. Maou in contrast was wearing a jacket and a pair of trousers. They were washed well but compared to what everyone else would be wearing he looked very under dressed. Had told him he should were his work clothes but Maou flat out refused (he didn't dare get them ruined or he would have to pay for new ones).

Hitotsu took one look at Maou before commenting. "You aren't really going to wear that are you?" a hint of annoyance in her voice.

"Well I could go butt naked if you prepare" Maou said sarcastically.

"Oh I would loooove that" giggled Hitotsu making Maou blush "but I don't think everyone else would. I'm sure you would get a lot of girl admirers and be the envy of every man there!"

"WHAT! When does a maiden talk so dirty!?" though he acted annoyed he found the idea of a girl actually having a dirty mind pleasant. It was a welcome change to having wanting to kill him all the time. Though diarrhoea would be a welcome change compared to having to listen to promising to kill him Maou thought.

"You are right best not to start a fight with other men envious of my natural gifts" smirked Maou.

"What really it is big!?" gasped Hitotsu.

"You might find out later" Maou grinned. He remembered the magazines he had gazed over while in the human world and how sexual references seemed to be a subject that brought much enjoyment to them. He was glad Hitotsu seemed to live up to that expectation. 'Humans are such simple creatures. Really I could just rule this world by going around naked'.

"Well will we be off?" asked Maou expending his arm.

Hitotsu didn't hesitate wrapping her arm around his "yes lets" she replied and both made their way to festival to all the world just another couple.

"Did you see that!" Ashiya frowned. "That HUMAN thinks she can touch our lord little lone have this sexual intercourse that humans seem to like so much!"

Urushihara wasn't listening to the complaining off Satan's commander. He was suffering from withdrawal symptoms of lack of internet access. He didn't really care if Satan got lucky with a human or not. He needed his GODDAMN INTERNET!

Maou and Hitotsu entered the village with the festival was in full swing. Human children ran all over the streets going from one tent or another that had been set up selling all sorts of items. Young couples held hands smiling while old couples looked on remembering festivals of old and drinking with their friends. A stage had been set in the middle of the square were a group of musicians were playing away. The band was dressed as all sorts of fairy tale creatures and often took up members from the crowd to join in with the song.

Around the square there were more tents and the space between the tents and the stage was used for dancing. Maou never understood why humans danced. It seemed so pointless but by the looks of happiness on their faces he guessed it must off been a very fun experience.

Hitotsu led Maou deeper into the festival. They stopped at street artists who preformed wonderful tricks ('for a human' Maou thought) and tried out the different sweets on sale. Maou had never thought he could taste so many wonderful sweets in his life in one place. He started to drag Hitotsu from one tent to another buying all that he could. The more tents he visited the more he opened up to Hitotsu. He started telling her stories of the human world always careful not to mention it was a completely different world or that he was Satan instead making it sound like it was a faraway land. Hitotsu looked on wide eyed amazed at hearing such things.

Soon both had made a full circle around the tents. They had reached a tent they hadn't visited yet.

"Oh lets go in!" begged Hitotsu and Maou agreed his curiosity getting the better of him. When they entered they saw it was a puppet show. Many children were in laughing at the puppets antics. As Maou got closer he froze in his tracks. One puppet in shining armour with a pointy sword was beating up another puppet with an ugly face and large horns.

"Bad Satan" the Hero puppet said.

"Yeah bad Satan!" chortled the children. The Hero puppet then grabbed the Satan puppet and threw it away.

"Run away you coward!" shouted the Hero puppet and the children joined in. Maou looked on, anger building inside him. He saw out of the corner of his eye Hitotsu also joining in of the mocking of puppet Satan.

Maou turned and stormed out. He headed straight out of the village and continued on until he reached the lake at the edge of the village. He was the only one there as he sat down on the grass trying to keep his temper in check. He wished more than anything to of revealed his true powers then and there and make the humans sorry. It took all his self restraint not to make the humans suffer for his mocking.

As he took a deep breath he heard footsteps behind him. Looking up he saw Hitotsu staring down at him.

"Everything OK?" she asked concerned.

"Yes I am fine, just a sore stomach" he lied.

"I think you are lying to me Maou. I can usually tell when people are lying to me, what is really wrong?"

'This human is sharper than he gave her credit for' Maou thought. "It's just I think the Hero isn't as good as she is all build up to be..." Maou said choosing his words carefully. "People make her this big deal when she really isn't. I know her and she is really annoying"

"You know the Hero" gasped Hitotsu. She sat down beside Maou and looked out over the pond. "Well I and a lot of people look up to her. She has done so much for us even though she has never met us but if you say she isn't all that then we don't have to go listen to stories of how great the Hero is"

"Really?" asked Maou shocked.

"Yes really. I'm not going to make you sit along to something that you don't like. Now would you do me the favour and be my dance partner" asked Hitotsu.

"Yes I would like that" smiled Maou. Both headed off to the village. Maou looked up and saw an early moon out tonight. 'I wonder what wonders await me tonight' smiled Maou. As both headed back to the village a shadowy figure emerged from the tress across the pond.

"Was that her?" it whispered to another figure that came from the trees "the witch?"

"Yes" laughed the second figure "Big bounty too!"

As Maou and Hitotsu re-entered the square of the village the tone of music changed. It was much slower and couples started to take over the dance floor.

"Come on this is my favourite song!" Hitotsu said dragging Maou to dance with her. Maou struggled at first but soon found his grove. It wasn't long before Hitotsu was trying to keep up with the Dark Lord in disguise.

"Wow that was great!" Hitotsu laughed after an hour of non-stop dancing. Both had take to the benches at the side and looked as fireworks started to go off overhead.

"You know I really like you Maou" whispered Hitotsu. She leaned in trying to get a kiss but Maou backed away. "Something wrong?" asked Hitotsu a look of hurt in her eyes.

"No nothing just... do you want some drinks" he asked nervously.

"Sure some juice for me please" smiled Hitotsu as Maou got up and hurriedly made his way off to get drinks. 'He's just nervous. I hope to get a kiss of a kiss of him later tonight and maybe become more than friends' she thought. A hand quickly covered her mouth and a voice whispered in her ear.

"Got you now witch"

As Maou walked back to the square he noticed that the atmosphere was very different. There was no more music and people looked to the stage fearful. Maou followed their gaze and saw group of figures on stage. The lead figure, a man had a knife pointed to the throat of a girl who was crying.

"People I bring you a witch!" The man with the knife shouted. "Accused of burning down our village we seek vengeance against this creature of Satan!" The man raised his knife preparing to cut her throat.

"NO STOP!" shouted Maou dropping his drinks and pushing his way through the crowd. The man stopped and squinted at Maou before again shouting. "Look People! She has put magic on that poor boy to make him her slave. Only by killing her can we save him from her curse!"

Some men in to crowd grabbed Maou and held him back. Maou looked on fearful. He was about to shout out before someone else shouted out beside him.

"KILL THE WITCH!" Maou turned and saw a young girl looking on at the stage hatred in her eyes. "Witches killed my parents" she shouted again. Soon others joined in and echoes of "KILL THE WITCH" filled the whole square. The man not needing anymore encouragement raised the knife again and brought it down across Hitotsu's throat. "I KILL YOU WITCH AND FREE US FROM YOUR DAMN MAGIC!"

The knife cut through Hitotsu's throat and her eyes went wide. Maou looked on in shock. The second took a lifetime as Hitotsu just stood there. Then blood burst from Hitotsu's throat and she fell to the group.

"NOOOOOO!" screamed Maou. His body started to glow. The men holding him let go afraid the witches' magic would cause him to explode. Magic poured through his body and then burst forth covering him in a dark light. As the people in the crowd shielded their eyes they dropped them again and looked on in horror as Satan stood before them.

Satan looked on pure anger in his eyes. People slowly backed away from him. Few dared to breathe as if doing so would attract his attention. Satan looked on at the man on the stage who stood shaking in his boots. He never expected Satan to show up!

Satan disappeared faster than the human eye could follow and impaled the man next to the man with the knife with his horn. He man screamed then burst in flames his body turning to ash. Only blood remained on his horn and Satan looked up at the moon. He then slowly turned his gaze to the man with the knife and suddenly he was grasping the man by the throat.

The man shouted and tried to kick out but that did no good. One of the other men on the stage tried to attack from behind only to be sent flying by a dark feather. Urushihara and Ashiya in their true demon forms appeared on stage next to their master. That was enough. The crowd broke its silence and started to run away from the demons.

"Was she really a witch" Satan asked the man his voice audible even over the crowd. The man looked on in fear before answering.

"No... we... me and my men burnt her village to the ground... we blamed her...or else we would of hanged... we said we would bring back her head...and then we would be made very rich men..." the man chocked out.

Satan sent dark flames into the man's body. The man screamed a thousand deaths before bursting into flames which them engulfed the whole village and the humans. There was screams then nothing. The village turned to ash and soon was blown away by a strong wind created by Satan. All that was left was the stage, the three demons and Hitotsu.

Satan looked down and was shocked to see her still alive. Her eyes darting from one demon to another.

"Quick Alciel! she's still alive! Save her" scooped down and examined her wounds. He turned his head way in disgust.

"I'm sorry my Lord. She is too far gone. I cannot save her..."

"Maou..." whispered Hitotsu looking up at the demon king. Satan kneed down beside her. "So I know why you really hated the Hero" chuckled Hitotsu weakly. "Don't worry I don't see you as a monster... I see you as a... friend... thanks for the wonderful night Maou too bad I never got that kiss" Hitotsu smiled and her eyes slowly closed. Her chest stopped rising up and down and then she was as still as the dead.

Nothing was said for a long time. Both demon Generals did not know how to comfort their master. Loss was something that demons never had to deal with. Satan looked up and saw the lake still in one piece. He lifted up Hitotsu's body carefully and hovered over to the lake. Looking down at a spot he thought was perfect he blasted a hole in the group. He gently placed her in the grave before covering her with the dirt. Satan walked over to a tree and pulled off a small branch. He saw how humans usually left some mark over the graves of their dead. Forming it into a cross he placed it atop Hitotsu's grave.

Satan looked at the grave for a few seconds before he raised his head and looked at his Generals. "It's time we took back what belongs to us" he said. Hovering of the ground he busted into full flight hoping never to have to go through what just happened.

His two Generals followed in suit and soon Satan's old castle was in the horizon. In seconds they were among his castle. The castle was a former shell of itself. The war had really taken its toll. Looking he saw that humans were still inside the castle.

"Kill them" he told his two Generals. Both compiled to his orders and got to work. It didn't take long. Any human still here was either injured from battling demons or mad. Both Generals were soon beside their master again. As Satan turned he looked back at human civilization. Using magic he made his voice boom across the land.

"HUMANS I LORD SATAN HAVE RETURNED! AND I PLAN TO TAKE BACK WHAT IS MINE!"

Hi everyone sorry that it took so long to update. I had exams and start of uni to deal with and it didn't go smooth. In truth I had the start of this chapter written out ages ago I just could never be bothered with finishing it. I hope to update it more often in future. Anyway leave me a review of what you thought of this chapter.


	4. Chapter4: New Neighbour

Chapter4: New Neighbour

Satan marched through the ruins of what was once his main throne room.

"Ugh this will take ages to clean up" muttered Alsiel kicking aside a large boulder as if it was a pebble. "Those dirty humans clearly have no idea how to keep a palace tidy."

Satan wasn't listening to his second in command. He took his sit on his throne which he was surprised was still in one piece. He huffed as he realised it would take a lot of work to fix what the humans had destroyed.

"Alsiel summon my other two Generals I heard they have fought bravely in my absence".

"Right away sir" saluted Alsiel marching off to find his fellow powerful demons. Satan looked at Lucifer who was in a corner cuddling himself. His internet withdrawal was really getting out of hand.

"Are you going to be OK?" Satan asked.

"Fuck you dude! If we didn't have to follow your lead I could have my internet and be able to..."Satan decided it was best to drown Lucifer out after that with his own thoughts. He wasn't in the mood to listen to Lucifer complaining.

'Now what am I going to do? Now that the Hero is trapped in the other world I can take over this one easy enough. I got to stop her friends though going back and telling her what happened while at the same time keeping her distracted in that human world until I have an army big enough to take it over too. We would need to send another demon back in disguise someone who could keep her distracted. Not Alsiel or Lucifer though she knows that their human forms look like. I need to send someone who will look completely different from their true form someone who Emi would not expect to be a demon. But who?"

As Satan pondered this over Alsiel returned with the two demons Satan asked for. Adramelech broke down in tears and tried to put Satan into a bear hug.

"I thought you were dead" cried Adramelech tears running down his eyes. "Adramelech had taken to drinking and has got in so much debt! How does a demon get in debt I ask you, how?"

Malacoda signed at his fellow demons crying. "It is good to see you my lord" rasped the Demon known by many as the Grim Reaper.

"It is good to see you both" Satan managed breaking free from Adramelech grip. "Now that we are all gathered it is time we got to business. Now" Satan said summoning a blackboard into the middle of the room. "We are here..." he drew crude figures of all five of them at one side of the board. "And this is this world..." now drawing a circle around the five figures. "The Hero is in this world..." he now drew a horrid drawing of Emi "and is trapped in the human world" again drawing another circle this time around Emi.

"For our plan to work one of us must go to the human world... "He drew an arrow putting from one of them to beside Emi in the human world "and keep her distracted from ever going back to our world, you all understand?"

"Why the shit drawings?" asked Lucifer.

"Oh Lucifer I missed your lack of respect towards our Lord" cried Adramelech grabbing Lucifer into a hug that crushed some of his bones.

"OUCH!" howled Lucifer trying to break free of Adramelech grip.

"So anyway who will go? It with have to be either Adramelech or Malacoda. Alsiel and Lucifer human forms are already known to Emi so they are out." Satan looked over his two Generals. Adramelech was large even by demon standards, Satan was sure Ad form would also be large and that could be a dead giveaway for Emi. Malacoda on the other hand was a complete guess. Whoever he chose would be a big gamble. The deciding factor would be who could actually act around Emi without trying to kill her. Ad was way too emotional so that left...

"Malacoda you will go to the human world and move into the place we had used while trapped there. You must befriend Emi and keep her too occupied from trying to return here. If humans from this world tries to make contact with her in that world destroy them. Understood?"

"Yes my lord" bowed Malacoda.

"Good Lucifer will take you there and tell you the basics. And Lucifer sort out your internet cravings over there will you?" frowned Satan.

"Yes sir!" shouted Lucifer jumping up and creating a patrol dragging Malacoda in with him. Lucifer wasn't going to go any longer without his precious internet for long!

In the human world a portal opened in front of a flat. Emerging from it were two humans that looked to be in their teens. Urushihara looked down at his hands and signed. Being a human was the consequence for internet but one that he would have to deal with. Urushihara looked up and saw the dark sky and street lights on. Going by how quiet it was he would guess it was the early hours of the morning. Urushihara looked over to Malacoda and gasped in surprise.

Malacoda was looking down at his own human hands. He had short spiky hair and blue eyes. His skin was a slight tan and he was of average height. He was still wearing his dark cloak which just looked silly on him. Malacoda looked up at Urushihara.

"So this is what being human feels like, it's pretty crap" Malacoda commented.

"It is" agreed Urushihara "By the way are magic is very limited here. We get more when humans are scared but don't overdo it. Don't want that bloody Hero to catch on. Also you need a human name and a human job to earn money. That is where you are going to be living Castle Overlord" Urushihara pointing to the apartments.

Malacoda looked at the apartments and laughed. "No but seriously where did you guys really live" he smirked.

Urushihara was bent over his laptop screen when Malacoda woke up that morning. Urushihara nearly broke the door down to get to it and hadn't been off it since. Malacoda never knew a demon could get so addicted to a human creation. Malacoda stretched and looked for something to eat. He saw that all they had was rice.

"Seriously how did the overlord live here" he grumbled.

Urushihara closed down his laptop and turned to Malacoda. "This place is shit but for this plan to work you got to live here. When Emi gets back she will be with two other girls. One is a member of the Inquisition and the other is a human that has a crush on Maou but Maou is too thick to realize. Today we get you a job" Urushihara told Malacoda. 'And I get a laptop to take with me back home' he thought to himself.

The day was an eventful one for the demons. Malacoda had made a scene when a man bumped into him and demanded he say sorry or he would make him beg for mercy. Dealing with the police was something Urushihara had not planned and had somehow managed to convince them that Malacoda didn't need to be locked up. They got to some shops and Urushihara bought the most expensive Laptop and router he could find with a very long lead. Malacoda was able to get some food other than rice and was able to apply for a job at a local call centre.

As Urushihara prepared to set off he made sure the router was safety hidden out of the way in Castle Overlords closet. After telling Malacoda at no costs should it be disturbed or turned off Urushihara managed to open a portal. Connecting the lead to the router and then to the laptop he scribbled down his email address to Malacoda.

"Here when you learn to use a laptop use my old laptop to keep up to date with us back in our world" said Urushihara before heading off into the portal and back home.

As Malacoda waved Urushihara goodbye he looked down at a leaflet he received from a man on the street for a casino in town. "Time to gamble!" Malacoda said happily to himself.

When the portal opened at Satan's castle Urushihara emerged to find that the throne room was spotless and back to its former glory. Satan was sitting on his throne deep in conversation to his other Generals.

"Really you got this place clean up in a say?" asked Lucifer.

"What you talking about? It has been 3 weeks since you left. We have gained back much control over the land we used to rule and have had some major victories against the church too" frowned Satan.

"Maybe it is possible that the time between worlds has changed" said a thoughtful Alsiel. "What would be a day over there is weeks here. It would explain why in all our time since we returned we haven't heard of Emi return".

"That could be it" nodded Satan. Satan grinned at the thought. 'If Malacoda can keep Emi distracted for at least a few days we could have this world ruled long before she can make a comeback'.

Emi, Chiho and Suzuno looked up at Castle Overlord with joy. While the weekend had been good it would be nice to see the demons again. Though Emi wouldn't admit it she did miss Maou. It was a quiet weekend without him to bicker with. As all three climbed the stairs Chiho was the first to knock on the door. They waited for a minute before knocking again. When no one answered Suzuno spoke up,

"Maybe they are out?"

"Even Urushihara?" asked Chiho.

"He wouldn't answer even if was there" replied Emi.

"Let's go to my place and wait for them" said Suzuno.

The other two agreed but Chiho felt a little disappointed. She had really looked forward to seeing Maou again. Suzuno opened her down and noticed the letter on her table. Reading it her eyes widened in shock. She was shaking by the time she had finished it.

"What's wrong" asked Emi nervously. Suzuno just handed her the letter and it was Emi turn to shake.

'Dear Suzuno Chiho and annoying hero

We have decided to move. Putting up with Emi constant hassling of my Lord has proved too much. We decided to travel this pathetic human world seeing what is worth saving before we take it over. I have left you a coupon book. Please use them all they are great value for money.

My Regards Ashiya'

"Those...those bastards! Just ditching us like that!" shouted Emi.

"What do you mean?" asked a tearful Chiho. Emi handed her the letter and when Chiho finished she fainted.

"Chiho!" both Emi and Suzuno screamed to their friend.

When Chiho woke up again she found a blanket wrapped around her and a cup of tea sitting beside her.

"Drink up" Emi said softly. Chiho did as instructed and tried to get her head around what just happened.

"So will we go after them or what?"Asked Suzuno.

"Of course we do! We can't let demons go wild in this world unsupervised!" Emi argued.

"Wait do you hear that?" said Suzuno silencing Emi. All three listened carefully as they heard footsteps come up the stairs. Carefully Emi looked out the door and saw a young man enter the Maou's and Ashiya's old apartment.

"Someone new is living there!" Emi told the two girls.

"Really a new person in there already?" asked Suzuno.

"Yeah male too... I think we should question him" Emi told the two girls.

"How do we go about that? We just can't go up and ask 'Hi do you know that the people who lived here were demons? Any idea where they went?' Yeah that will go down well..."

"No but you can go up and greet him. Like humans in this world do when they got new neighbours. I seen it on TV" Emi said pushing Suzuno out the door.

"Wait what I'm not ready for this" but Emi had already knocked on the door and was hurrying back into Suzuno apartment when Maou's old apartment door opened.

"Hello?" answered Malacoda.

"Oh hello I'm Suzuno your neighbour! I was away this weekend and I heard that you are now living here so welcome neighbour!" said Suzuno in what she hoped was a cheerful voice.

"Hi I'm... Maru Koda" Malacoda said thinking on the spot. 'I'm such a genius no human would make a connection between this name and my real name' he thought to himself smuggle.

"Hi Koda well I'm here if you need anything!" smiled Suzuno.

"Thank you" smiled Maru back. "Here don't you want to come in? We can talk more inside."

"Oh... sure" Suzuno managed and followed Maru back into the apartment that she was so used to being in with Maou and the others.

"She went into his apartment!" whispered Emi to Chiho. "If she doesn't come out in 10 minutes I'm going in there!"

The next 10 minutes were tense for Emi and Chiho. Emi was thinking the worst and was about to break in and save Suzuno from what evil Maru could be inflicting on her. Chiho had still not recovered from the revolution that Maou was gone. It was a big shock for the young woman.

As Emi was about to open the door to go save Suzuno the door suddenly opened and walked in. Emi was quick with the questions.

"Well what happened? Was he what he seemed to be? Is he really a gang lord? Is there bodies in there? Was he perverted? Did he ask sexual questions? Details woman!"

"Wah! Calm down!" Suzuno said defensively. "He isn't actually that bad. He just moved in, he has a job but hardly knows anyone around here. He is a good cook, he let me try some of his food... but I keep getting this feeling that I know him from somewhere."

"What you mean?" asked Emi.

"I don't know. I have never met him before today but I still feel like I have heard about him. I don't know how to explain it" answered Suzuno.

"Hmmm well I'll keep a close eye on him" replied Emi. Soon it was time for Emi and Chiho to leave. As they said their goodbyes Emi used the chance she had to look in to Maru's apartment. Maru was reading a book facing away from the window but Emi was able to at least see the side of his face. 'He's cute' noted Emi 'but why do I feel like I know him? Something is got to be up'.

When it came time for Emi and Chiho to part ways Emi hugged Chiho. "Don't worry Chiho we will find Maou and the rest soon, I promise" reassured Emi.

"I'm sure we will see them again" Chiho said through more tears.

As Chiho made her way home alone she felt so alone and betrayed. 'How could Maou just leave like that without saying goodbye and after he promised he wouldn't just get up and leave'.

Back at Satan's castle Satan was busy organising his army. Alsiel had noticed that Satan just didn't seem to have the hunger he once did for ruling the world.

"A country for your thoughts?" asked Alsiel.

Satan looked at his most loyal General and thought deeply before answering. "You know Alsiel I've been thinking what the point of this anymore? Any time we fight humans and try and rule them they fight back. We take over their lands but we aren't any stronger for it. We are weaker actually with all the losses we take from war. I mean humans aren't that bad are they?" Satan thought about Chiho and Suzuno and all the humans he meet while in the human world.

"But my lord you are Satan! It is your destiny to rule over humans!" protested Alsiel. "Anyway I know there are good humans and my experience in the human world made me realised they aren't that bad. They actually have it as hard as us demons but we got to remember that given the chance they would kill us all. They tried long ago and would surely try again if we gave them the chance"

Your right" conceded Satan. He heard the tales of when humans enslaved and nearly wiped out demons. No it was better to just destroy their world and break their spirits than let them relive history. 'I have to do this to protect my fellow demons!" thought Satan reassuring his determination to rule the world.


End file.
